1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new and improved electroacoustically amplified drum assembly, and a microphone assembly and mounting bracket therefor.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Conventional drums consist of a hollow drum shell having one or more drumheads held in place by head hoops. Conventional drums are usually not tunable except in a very narrow range by adjustment of the head hoop. Likewise, conventional drums were not been electrically amplified in a satisfactory manner until about 1986.
The placing of an electrical microphone adjacent to the drumhead of a conventional drum was not satisfactory since only the vibrating sound from the drumhead is amplified and there is very little amplification of the resonant components of the sound. The placing of an electric microphone inside a conventional drum previously resulted in the amplification of a mixture of vibratory sounds that amplification that was not musically acceptable.
May U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,522 disclosed an electroacoustically amplified drum assembly consisting of a hollow drum shell with a drumhead closing one or both end thereof. An acoustical microphone was positioned in the drum shell spaced from and free from any connection to the drumhead and had leads for connection to an external amplifier and speaker. An adjustable mount was secured on and extending through the wall of the drum shell for supporting the microphone. The adjustable mount included a mechanism for adjusting the position of the microphone for minimizing microphone interference and optimizing proximity effect and sound quality. A product has been produced and sold in the U.S. and some foreign countries during the time since that patent was granted.
The inventor developed this invention as an improvement on his prior patent '522 to facilitate the production of electroamplified drums from standard commercially available drums.
The prior art cited in the May '522 patent or cited against it by the Examiner is the best prior art known to the inventor relative to the '522 patent: Green U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,264; Dominguez et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,339: Ebihara et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,959; Parsons U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,367; Rizutti U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,304; Kaminsky U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,775; Glenn et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,551,580; May U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,646; Barber, Jr. et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,107; Hyakutake U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,156; and Pozar U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,937.
U.S. Patents issued since applicant's prior patent (May '522) that are relevant to this invention are:
Rothmel U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,710 discloses a drum having a tuned electronic drum pad. PA1 Volpp U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,353,674 and 5,606,142 each disclose a drum having a microphone mounted on the drum shell. PA1 Rogers U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,245 discloses a drum having a transducer mounted inside the shell. PA1 Wendler U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,389 discloses a stringed instrument with a magnet inside positioned to respond to vibration of the strings. PA1 Winkler U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,686 discloses another stringed instrument with a magnet inside positioned to respond to vibration of the strings. PA1 Donnell U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,803 discloses still another stringed instrument with a microphone inside positioned to respond to vibration of the strings.
The following U.S. patents show the internal milking of stringed instruments: